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I-band CCD photometry and K-band NICMOS photometry of the brightest red supergiants in IC 4182 (UGC 8188) are presented in order to estimate the distance to this galaxy. Assuming that the brightest red supergiants are «standard candles» and adopting an absolute calibration of the brightest red supergiants, a distance modulus of 27.0 ± 0.2 mag (2.5 ± 0.3 Mpc) is obtained. This estimate is more than a magnitude closer in distance modulus than using photographic V-band photometry and a similar absolute calibration

A faint cool companion to Gliese 569, discovered during an IR imaging survey of nearby stars, may be the lowest-mass stellar object yet found. The companion is somewhat cooler in its 1.65-3.75-micron energy distribution than the coolest known main-sequence stars, indicating a low mass. Despite its lower temperature, it is more luminous than similar extremely low-mass stars, suggesting that it is either a young low-mass star evolving toward the main sequence or a cooling substellar brown dwarf. The primary star has emission lines and a low space velocity and exhibits flaring, all of which imply youth for this system. Observations of Gliese 569 and its companion over a period of 2 yr confirm the common proper motion expected of a true binary. The 5-arcsec apparent separation (50 AU) implies an orbital period of roughly 500 yr, which will permit an eventual direct determination of the mass of the companion.